The Child Snatcher Job
by greeneggsandham89
Summary: The team takes on a child snatcher, in their bid to take him down, they find out something alarming from Parker's past. Set in Season 5 but not to many Spoilers!
1. The Client

I do not own leverage or any characters here. No copy right intended!

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"I don't really know how we can help you here" Nate said feeling bad for the poor women.

"You're not listening . This man" She pointed to the picture of on the desk, "Isn't just a "Child protection worker" he's abusing his power. He finds kids with stretchy backgrounds, that no one where to miss. He's taking them and he's selling them. And not to very nice people either, you need to stop him. He's so tight with the police that if you report him, they'll stick something' on you. " She took a breath. "You need to help me. Help those Kids, He's been doing this for years. Its to late to help some of them. But you have to get them, what do you call it? Leverage. You need to get all the people Holdings screwed that. Because no one else will."

She looked Nate in the eye, pleading with him in the silence.

"Fine. We'll take the case." He turned to leave

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	2. The Research

I still don't own Leverage.

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Hardison leaned down to sip his orange soda, Parker, was sitting on the long dark sofa that came with his apartment, surfing through the channels.

He set to work on the latest case. Child Snatching rich boy. It made him sick that he just thought you could take a kid. Just because they weren't from a good neighbor hood, and sell them to the highest bidder. That's just wrong.

Skimming through various databases, he began to build up a good picture of Frank Holdings.  
Grew up in Connecticut, Dad was a contractor, mom was a stay at home. Graduated UC. Got into child protection, quickly rose through the ranks to top dog.

Then in 96' kids started disappearing, just two or three at first then as the year, then the numbers grew and grew. Now twenty or thirty a year. All kinds of different kids, different states, city, backgrounds, gender and age. All from rough places or Foster Care, or just broke parents that could buy child care and left them with a great-aunt or Grandfather that could be confused.

No dealings with black hats on record. Anywhere. This man was as clean as could be. Skimming through records of missing kids. Some where more obvious than others. Kids just going missing in the middle of the day.

"What you looking at?" Parkers voice from behind him made him jump.

"Researching the new case mama, I'm using Cross reference technology to look up everything the Mark and..." She was scrolling down the kids names and pressing buttons. "Parker! Parker come on don't touch that," She was staring at one of the names, something in her blue eyes flashed in recognition. He was just about to look behind him to see what one when he felt her mouth on his. It lingered there for a moment then she smiled and leaped back to the couch.

Sighing in confusion, although Parker and him had finally took that step, she still confused the hell out of him. But it was a good kind of confused though. Like a 5000 piece puzzle, confusing but fun and worth it.

Looking back at the screen, he noticed something off now. 163 names on the screen, was that the same as a second ago. He swore it was 165 or 164. Maybe he was wrong, but he checked the History anyway.

1 name Deleted. He looked behind him to ask Parker, but she was gone.  
"Parker? Parker?, you here girl?" No answer. He got up and wandered round, his door was hanging open, with a sticky note in Parker hand stuck to it.

Sorry, had to go, might be gone a while. Don't worry, I'll be back.

Confused. He was Confused. Not only with Parker as a whole, but this note. Did she mean like an hour, or a week, Would she really be back? With Parker he just didn't know. He decided to call her cell.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Voicemail. No answer. Damn.

He was tempted to track her. No, he thought. He had to give her some privacy. She might just have popped out for cereal or something. He'd give her a while. It was late now.  
He turned the monitor off and slouched down on the couch.


	3. The Deleted Child

I have Never owned Leverage.

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Missing persons report.  
Name: Parker, Emma.

Age: 5

Location: Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Last seen: Herbert Von King Park Play ground. Alone.

Background:  
Emma's Parents, Marshal Parker and Alanna King, filed Emma Parker missing on the 9th of May 1996, Marshal Parker, left her in his Apartment whilst he went out to work. When he came back, he found Emma to be missing. She was last seen at the Play ground in Herbert Von King Park, Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, near the swings by Kari Underwood, her fathers neighbor. She was seen talking to a tall man with dark hair and a black suit on. Anyone with information on Emma and her where about, is being urged to come forward.

Description: Round about 3'6 in height. Shoulder length Blonde hair. Blue eyes, pale skin. Emma has a birthmark in the shape of Italy on her left wrist. She was last seen wearing a red Dungaree dress, with a red and white striped long-sleeved T-shirt underneath, black converse sneakers and caring a brown stuffed rabbit.

If you see a girl fitting this description or know anything about Enema's whereabouts please contact 087-432-89.  
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	4. The Team Meeting

Never will own Leverage

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The next day.  
"Where's Parker?" Sophie asked as she walked into the office. Eliot shrugged.

"Oh, uhh, she left, like ehh, last night" Hardison stuttered.

"SHE LEFT!" Sophie screeched "For what? Like for Good or just..."

"She said she'd be back! So I'm guessing ..."

"You can't guess with Parker" Eliot said. "Girls crazy"

"Yeah, I know man, but.." He looked at the laptop on the counter, an idea flashed into his head. His fingers glided across the keyboard.

PARKER.

No results. Of course not. That was a ridicules idea, he knew that. Wait, that thing from last night popped into his head. 1 name deleted, he'd forgotten about that. Why would Parker want to cut a kid from the system? Unless...

He clicked into the deleted files.

"Awww Craaaaap!" he said as he saw the picture of the little blonde girl.

"What is it?" Nate said, his eyebrows furrowed. Hardison put the file on the big screen. "Well, then this just got personal, didn't it?" Eliot growled in response


	5. The Past catches up

I Don't own Leverage! (Do I still need to put this here?)

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Parker was sitting in her "home", other people may find her warehouse unconventional, but she stayed at Hardison's mostly now. She just kept her Riggs and Bunny here. And her getaway bag, filled with money, a rig, some diamonds, other thief stuff (Explosives, toothpaste, fake ID's Blah blah) and an old picture of her and her real Dad. The Dad she had before things got bad, when she was little.  
She had thought about putting Hardison's picture in there to, but then decided that if she was going to run, she'd at least try to take him with her. So then she wouldn't need his picture. She would do that.  
Sitting on her unused bed, she thought of her Dad, for the first time in ages. He wasn't the best dad, but he tried. Her mom, she was gone before she could even talk properly. She couldn't remember why. Maybe she was just board with them.  
Her Dad worked hard. He worked all day, and some nights. Sometimes Parker would stay with her neighbor Mrs.. Underwood. Sometimes by herself. She would walk to the play ground herself. Play with some of her friends. Or with bunny, he was her best friend.  
Then one day her Dad and Mr.. Underwood fell out, Parker could remember a lot of shouting. And bad language. Lots of that too. Then Parker wasn't allowed to see Mrs.. Underwood and her kids anymore, just stay at home.  
Usually she'd just stay in the apartment. But it wasn't very nice in there, they couldn't afford pretty walls or trinkets. Dad worked to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head. So she went to the playground one day, with Bunny to keep her safe.  
On the swings, this man came, and told her that her dad had sent him. He knew her name, and her Dad's, and his nickname for her. His "Soldered".  
He used to call her that when he got home from work, "How's your day been lil'' soldier?" Or when she was crying " Straighten up Lil'' soldier!", Then the man in the suit came up to her, whilst she was swinging, picked Bunny up off the swing he was sitting on, and said  
"Hey Emma, its me!" He had said, when she looked at him confused he added on "your Dads friend? Frank? No, don't remember me? Well Marsh told me to come and tell his little soldier that he wants to see her! Just come with me and we'll go find him."  
Now, she could see that this was just a ruse. And not a very good one either! If she was a little smarter, she would have asked why her dad didn't come himself. Or how he knew she was here. But she was only 5, and going to see her Dad at work sounded exiting and fun, she'd never been to her Dads work before. When ever she asked what he did he'd say he was a "Sales man", but come to think of it, what kind of sales man works through the night? Or with some one like her Uncle Luie? Because her Uncle Luie was a sketchy man. She even know that when she was 5.  
But the man knew her Dad's name for her, and not many did. So, stupidly, she trusted him. It used to be something she regretted. When she was still Boosting cars, or in Juvy. But now, actually since she met Archie, it's not. Yes, she missed her Dad. But she didn't miss their apartment. Or his cooking. And she loved being a thief. It was part of her. And she loved working for Leverage.  
Sure some of the cases where bearing, and she didn't always get to steal things, but the feeling she got when she finished a case, it was worth it. And knowing Hardison. That was also worth it. Very much so.  
She wanted to call Hardison now. Or see him. But he'd want to talk about her leaving. Or he might know why she left and want to talk about that. But she couldn't. It hurt when she thought about it. She hadn't told anyone. Not even Archie. She didn't think she could either!  
I need to steal something, Parker thought, Something big and fun. But nothing they could trace her by. So something foreign. Or something that gets stolen everyday.  
A car! She hadn't taken one of them since that job where Eliot got thrown in the river. And it wouldn't show up on any of Hardison's radars? Plus, she could always return the car, if her conscience inclined her to do so.  
At that she Grabbed her kit and coat and headed for the door of her Make shift home. With a smile on her face.

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AN: Thanks for reading! The next update might be a day or to but bear with me! I'm a little busy right now!


	6. The Lost Family

Leverage isn't mine. I own Nothing.

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"Alright, so Alana King AKA Parkers mom, born and raised in Manhattan - real city girl, married Marshal Parker in 1990 at the age of 17" He paused

"Had Parker three months later, turned down Sarah Lawrence and NYU, to be a waitress in Brooklyn. Parents disowned her, fell into a drug addiction, arrested numerous times, then in 1993 committed suicide" Hardison said with a certain amount of pity in his voice.

"Then, we got Marshal Parker AKA Parkers Dad. Grew up in Detroit, moved to Brooklyn at 15 with his Mom and met Parkers Mom. Dropped outta' highschool as soon as he knew little Parker was coming along, and got a job at a mechanics and worked as a bar tender at nights. After Parkers mom died, he kind of lost it, lost both jobs. Started working with his friend Luie Karriew, dealing drugs. skimmed by, after Parker went missing he became an alcoholic, got real bad. Lost his apartment, then a few years ago he must have cleaned up, started a Missing children's Fund Called "Emma's Chance", doing well, help's fund different searched and publicity for Missing Children."

An image of a bunny rabbit with the print "Emma's Choice" in cream cursive on its bow. "Moved to Detroit just after he funded it, has offices there."

"So I guess a trip to Detroit's coming up." Nate said. " Pack your bags crew" And left the room, followed by Sophie, then Eliot. Leaving Hardison in the room alone.

It had been a week now, nothing at all from Parker. Nil. And he was losing his mind. It was like it was physically hurting him, the worry and stress. And something else. Something new to him, Hardison cared about many people, His Nana, some of his friends, his crew. But Parker was different. It was like she understood him. His quirks, his phobias, just him in general.  
He decided enough was enough, and got out his laptop, skimming his fingers down the keys.

Parkers cell was located in a warehouse in Madison South. He jotted down the address, grabbed a jacket and ran out the door.

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AN: Thanks for reading and I apologies at the shortness and the crappyness' of this chapter! I wasn't to sure if I wanted to stick to the con (I've kind of derailed that!) or focus on Parker and her past! So if you have any suggestion please PM me or Review! Also, thanks for the reviews I have already received! They made my day!


	7. The Fathers Tale

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Sophie and Hardison walked into Mr. Parkers offices of downtown Detroit. On the third floor of a office building, they where greeted by a swamped looking receptionist, with mosey hair scraped back into a messy bun. Her desk was covered in clutter,  
"Oh, Hello. I'm Margret. The receptionist. Ha ha, how may I help you" She said shakily smoothing down her hair.  
"Detective R Hobbsin and Detective Thermadoor, we're here to open up a missing persons case again, of a Miss E. Parker, we're here to talk to a Mr. M. Parker." Sophie said smoothly, flashing a fake badge in front of her. The girl looked taken aback.  
"Really, that's great news. Really, Marsh... Mr. Parker will be thrilled. He never really did stop looking." she beamed "Come with me" She began to walk past an empty water cooler, to a grey door and knocked twice before opening.  
"Uncle Marsh... Mr. Parker" She said in a professional voice. "I have some great new, they're re Opening Emma's case!" She exclaimed, gesturing for Hardison and Sophie to enter.  
"What! really!" A tall middle-aged man with dark cropped hair and a shabby suit called from behind hid cheep desk. Though that was clear apart from a few photo frames and a decrepit looking Computer that Hardison had to hold his disgust at it in.  
Hardison was twitching, everyone thought he should have stayed in the van. But he insisted, saying something about a phone call to Parker. He still wasn't allowed to talk.  
"Hello Mr. Parker. Im Detective Hobbsin and this is Thermadoor" She gestured Hardison, who had a funny look on his face. "Its his first case, he's just here to take notes, Ignore him." She smiled. "We're here to gather information on your daughter Emma, to reopen her case"  
"Thank you. I can't thank you enough for that. What do you need to know"  
"okay, How about we start with Par.. Emma's Mother, Alaina King."  
Hardison noticed a picture of a pretty blonde. At first he thought it was Parker, they were so similar. She was sitting on a hospital bed, her long blonde hair plastered to her skull, in a too big yellow hospital gown. She looked no more than 17, and she was holding a small pink bundle, her too familiar blue eyes fixed on it with so much love.  
"That kind of complicated you probably already know this, but she killed herself when Em' was three. She was depressed you see, missed her family who disowned her after she got pregnant. Didn't approve of a bum like me, thought their little princess was to good for me. And maybe she was." He looked wistful. "Anyway, as I was saying. We where young, both dropped out of high school at 17 to look after Emma. She was working at a Dinner when she met Lewis Granger, or Luie as we all called him. Em would have been about a year. At first he was nice, would lend us money or give us some toys or clothes for Em'. Then I noticed Alaina was acting weird. Like she lived on nervous energy. 6 months after meeting him, she got arrested on a possession charge. The for the next year she got more and more. She looked like a skeleton by the time she decided to clean was something Emma said, like her Mom only loved us when she had her happy medicine. " he paused "She must have been two at the time. Bright as a button though. So Alaina cleaned herself up. Started going to meetings, spending more time with us, didn't talk to Luie anymore." He smiled at the memory's, that must have been the only time they had as a happy family. "The one day I went out to work, She told me she was sick and wasn't going to the Dinner to work. And I come home and find.." He's physical shaking " I find my beautiful little girl screaming, and my wife just, just" He takes a breath, runs his hand down his face. Sophie puts a soothing hand on his arm. Hardison remained awkwardly frozen  
"Thank you Mr. Parker. Now can you tell me about Emma, when she went missing."  
Hardison saw a smaller picture, wallet sized, of a small blonde girl in a blue gingham dress carrying a battered looking bag, smiling from ear to ear.  
"Emma was a smart kid, after her mom.. I went off the rails, she almost got taken off me. I lost my job. Luie was taken to me then, and soon I was shifting for him. Karri from next door used to watch Emma because her daughter was the same age. Me and Karri where close friends... and her husband found out just how Close," He shock his head. "Then Karri couldn't look after Em' for me no more. So I had to leave her at home when I went to work for Luie. She wasn't supposed leave the apartment, I even locked the door. She must have gotten out some how, and went to the Playground." He looked confused still, "I don't know who would take her. Who would take a child."  
"We have our leads." Sophie stated.  
"You do? You mean Em's alive? Like, you've seen her, know where she is?"  
"Errmm, Mr. Parker, nothing has been confirmed, and so for privacy reasons I can't confirm nor denie that fact."  
"That's better than nothing." He smiled. "Tell her I never stopped looking."  
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The team sat around the hotel table eating chinese food.  
"I think it's the real deal, Our Parkers dad." Sophie said after she was done chewing. "The pictures on his desk, the woman looked just like Parker. Scairily so."  
"Yeah man, plus everything else matches up" Hardison said over a mouth full of Mu Shu Pork.  
"Okay, so assuming he is, why would Holdings target Parker for hid first hit?" Nate asked.  
"Easy Target, She was in the system anyway. " Eliot grunted.


	8. The end

Parker let out a sigh. Well, they knew. No more hiding behide her mystery. She was Emma again. Maybe they might call her Parker still. That would be best, she killed Emma off in her head so many years ago.  
Emma was a little girl. Venerable, nieve, unskilled. She wasn't Parker. Parker had learned to live life the way she did the hard way. No more little dolls or Play parks. The only things that linked the two together was the Bunny that sat on her bed.  
She didn't regret anything. She loved being a theif. She Loved working with her crew. It was her life. She skimmed through her contacts and stopped at H. Dialing Hardison.  
"Parker?" He answered on the first ring. "Hey, are you Okay where are you?"  
"I'm fine, it's just you called" She said stalling.  
"Umm yeah, its been week and no calls or messages. I was worried. We all where."  
"Well I'm fine, I'm kind of done with what I was doing"  
"yeah, I noticed you hadn't lifted a car in last few days."  
"What How did you?.."  
"Age of the Geek baby"  
"look I've gotta go, but I'll see you soon right?" at that Parker Hung up. Once agin grabbing her coat, and running to the door. But this time she wasn't going to steal a car or a painting, but heading to the airport to get on the next flight to Detroit.


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